James Harden scored 30 points and the Houston Rockets snapped a two-game skid with a 102-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

The Rockets closed the third quarter with a 14-2 run to turn a one-point game into a double-digit lead entering the fourth.

They were up by 12 when the Bucks went on a 14-4 run, that started with consecutive dunks by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams and ended with a 3-pointer by Khris Middleton, to cut the lead to 100-98 with 6.9 seconds left.

But Trevor Ariza made a pair of free throws after that to secure the victory.

Ariza added 19 points for the Rockets, who were playing without Dwight Howard, who sat out after spraining his left ankle Wednesday night.

Houston led by 13 entering the fourth quarter and was up by 14 when Milwaukee used a 10-2 run to get within six at 88-82 with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining. Middleton powered that run, scoring six points, and Jerryd Bayless added a 3-pointer.

The Rockets used an 8-2 run, with two 3-pointers from Harden, to push it to 96-84 with 4 1/2 minutes left.

The Bucks opened the second half with a 16-4 run that cut Houston's lead to 61-60 with midway through the third quarter. Jabari Parker had six points in that span and Carter-Williams had five, highlighted by a two-handed alley-oop dunk from Parker.

The Rockets had two turnovers and missed nine shots to help the Bucks close the gap.

Houston scored four straight points after that, but the Bucks scored the next four to get within one point again.

This time, Ariza made consecutive 3-pointers to start the big run that pushed Houston's lead to 79-66 at the end of the third quarter. Josh Smith, who was traded from the Clippers on Friday, blocked a dunk by John Henson near the end of the quarter that had all the Rockets on the bench standing and cheering.

Smith spent the last half of last season with the Rockets before signing with the Clippers in the offseason. He received a standing ovation when a video of his highlights and a welcome message was played on the video boards early in the first quarter.

Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff had said before the game that he didn't expect him to play until Sunday. Instead, he entered the game for the first time with about five minutes left and had two points, five rebounds and six assists in 20 minutes.

The Rockets scored the last five points in the second quarter to push their lead to 57-45 at halftime.

Rockets: PG Patrick Beverley missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. ... Bickerstaff said he expects Howard to be out three to four more days. ... Terrence Jones scored 14 points with eight rebounds and four blocks.